Improvement in car-brakes



I. ROBBINS.

GAR-BBAKE.

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

?atented June 27,1875.

Z Sheets-Sheet 2. I. ROBBINS.

CAR-BRAKE;

No.179,350. Patented June 27,1876.

WTNESSES: J NENTOR 2 w mg. I

4 I ATTORNEYS.

N, FETERS. PHDTO-LITHOGRAPNEIL WASHINGTDN. D c( "Pennsylv'ania, have invented a new and Imtwo arms, Gr G', at right angles to each other.

the brakes. This rod E is pivoted below to b' UNITED STATES p IR-A ROBBINS, OF HUGHESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA. I

IMPROVEMENT lN CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 179350, dated June 27, 1876; application filed April 7,

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA RoBBLNs, of Hughes ville, in the county of Lyconin g and State of proved Automatic Oar-Brake; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is an end elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the line a: x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan View. Figs. 4 and 5 are details.

My invention relates to an improved construction of carbrake, designed to apply or remove the brakes automatically or by hand, as may be desired. It consists in the arrangement of a bellows operated continuously by the car-wheels, which is'employed for releas ing the brakes; in the mechanism Operating in connection therewith; and in the devices for automatically applying the brakes by the impact or concussion of the cars, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawing, A represents the bottom of a car, and B the car -truck, which, together, carry the devices constituting my improved brake.

Pivoted in bearingsis arranged a rock-shaft, E, through which the brakes are applied, which is ordinarily eifectcd by a hand-lever,-F, fastened in a socket in the said rock shaft, and projecting up above the platform of the car. Upon the other end of this shaft are arranged G' is loosely attached to a rod, H, and by bea-ring upon its fixed collar a, serves to apply of the two toggle-arns b' b, of which b' has an ofi'set-catch, c, and is bent around beneath ashaft, I, and is pivoted to a slide, d, in which the said shaft I is journaled. The togglearm b is pivot-ed to b' at e, and is pivoted also at the other end fixedly to the plate f, so that a depression of rod H projects the sliding hearing of the shaftI horizontally in its guideways. This shaft I carries a friction-wheel, J, with a leather or rubb'er face, and is also journaled in a fixed hearing, K, and carries a chain, L, which is attached to the rod of the brake. When, therefore, the arm G' depresses rod H, the hearing of shaft I is projected horizontally, and the friction-wheel J is pressed against the revolving aXle of the car-Wheels, and the shaft being made to revolve Winds up the chain L, and applies the brake-shoes to the wheels. After the brakes are thus applied the catch or offset c is held beneath the latch g, and the brakes thus held to the wheels unt-il the car stops, when they are automatically released. This is eft'ected by the following mechanismz' Upon one of the axles ot' the carwheels, or upon the wheel itself, are located one or nore friction wheels or cams, h, which, in the revolution of the axle, strike against the end of a lever, M, pivoted to the truck, which lever, being backedby a spring, N, is made to vibrate continuously so lon g as the caris in motion. The other end of this lever is attached to and operates one side, t', of a compound bellows, N', the other side, j, of which bellows is hacked by a spring, 70, and connected with a trippingrod, l, which latter operates with the latch g to throwit from the oft'set and release the brakes. The end of the tripping-rod is made inclined and slides under an arin, m, on the same shaft, n, which carries the latch `g. Now, so long as the car is in notion, the side j of the bellows is filled with air, and holds back tripping-rod l, so that a spring, 0, holds the latch in position to retain the catch or offset. v As soon as the latter is depressed through rod H, the rockshaft, and hand-lover, the latch reoeives it, and holds the friction-wheel to the aXle, and the brakes are applied until the car is stopped. As soon as the car stops the spring forces the air out of the side j of the bellows, and the tripping-rod slides under the arm attached to the same shaft with the latch g, and as the latter is thrown to one side a tappet, p, affixed to the same throws up the oft'set or catch and releases the brakes. To throw up the catch requires but a small expenditure of power on the part of the tappet, as the joint e of the toggle-arms will be very nearly in a direct line between the outer pivots of the arms, and just sufficiently below the same not to jolt out from the motion of the car.

To compensate for any irregularities upon the car-axle and insure a uniform and smooth t'rictional contact between the wheel J and the aXle, the frame or plate O, which carries the wheelJ and its co-operating devices, is pivoted at q to the truck-frame, and the plate O is provided with a spring, r, which makes the pressure of the friction-whcel With the axle always uniform, and prevents slipping ot' the brakes. Generally the brakes will be applied through the hand-lover; but they may be applied automatically by the concussion ori'npact ot' the cars, and for this purpose an arm, P, is ri gidly attached to the rock-shaft E, and a slide, Q, is arranged beneath the car in guide-supports E. This slide is held` to the front end of the car by means of a spring, S, so that it projects beyond the end of the car, in position to be struck by a similar slide on the opposite car. This slide carries a pivoted plate, T, having a projecting cam, t, which, as the slide moves back when the cars come together, strikes the arm P. and, by defiecting it, applies the brakes. By varying the inclination of the cam upon the pivoted plate T, the braking may he variously modified.

As shown in Fig. 2, the cam deflects arm P hy the concussion, which arm then passes upon the opposite side of the cam, and the spring S forces the slide back, the brakes being applied and held hy this movement.

By turning plate T and increasing the inclination of cam t, as shown in Fig. 4, the hrakes are applied, but upon the stretching up of the train are immediately removed, the arm hein g first urged in one direction by the concussion to apply the brakes, and then in the other direction by the same cam, from the action of the spring, which causes a bent 'od, u, on arm G to strike an arm, v, attached to the same shaft with the latch g and remove the brakes, the tripping-rod being previously moved out of the way by said arm Gr. This latter arrangement will he used when going down grade. In hacking, the pivoted plate T is turned so that the cam does not strike the arm P.

I'am aware of the fact that it is not new to employ a laterally-adjustable shaft carrying a friction-wheel, which engages with the caraxle to wind up a chain and apply the brakes, and I consequently limit this feature of my invention to the combination of the above devices with the toggle arms b b', whereby the hrakes are held applied b y reason of the position of the joint e with respect to the outer pivots,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. The shaft I, carrying frictional wheel J, in combination with its sliding hearing d, the togglearms b b', and the brake with suitable connecting mechanism, for the purpose described.

2. The mechanism for automatically releasing the brakes, consisting of a bellows filled with air by the movement of the cars, and provided With a tripping device, which releases the brakes through the collapsing of the bellows when the cars stop, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the hand-lever F, rock-shaft E, having arms G G', the rod H, having collar a, the toggle-arms b b the catch c, latch g, plate f, and shat't I, carryingthe friction-whecl, as and for the purpose described.

4. The conbination of the friction-wheel h upon the axle, the vibratng lever M, spring N, and compound hellows N as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of the bellows N', having tripping-rod l, spring-seated arm m, shaft n, and latch g, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The plate 0, carrying the Operating devices, pivoted to the truckrame at q, andhaving a spring, r, as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination, with rock-shaft E, having arm P, of the slide Q, spring S, and pivoted plate T, carrying cam t, for automatically applying the brakes, as described.

i IRA ROBBINS.

Witnesses:

J. CLINTON HILL, H. G. TROXELL. 

